I thought I could handle it…

(Zack's POV)

I had turned eleven years old and the new school session was about to begin. My grandfather called me to his study and asked me what school I would like to go to. He gave me a list of private schools and schools for special kids. I was displeased upon seeing the list. I told him that I didn't want to go to any of them. I had researched a lot of schools over the past few months and I had concluded that I didn't want to be in a school surrounded by kids like me. I wanted to go to an average school with regular kids and not kids who think they have it all or kids who had health or mental issues. I just wanted to live like a normal kid. I explained this to my grandfather and he thought I was being unreasonable. I ignored his complaints and stood my ground. He finally backed down and asked for the school I had in mind. I was happy with the response I got and I told him where I wanted to study.

On the first day of school, I had told myself a lot of reassuring words and I believed that I could handle being around people without feeling like I could be kidnapped again. It took a lot of effort but I had calmed down. My grandfather took time out of his busy schedule to take me to school. At the principal's office, we received a warm welcome because they were not expecting to see the grandson of a wealthy businessman who wanted to attend their school. I was given instant admission and I was assigned to class. The principal was also informed of my condition and instructions were passed across to the staff in case something ever happened. 

I was directed to my class and the moment I walked in, I was welcomed by a crowd of kids. They all seemed used to the environment and it seemed as if everyone knew everyone and I was the only one who was left in a corner. That's what I thought till I noticed a girl that was sitting at the corner of the room. She was observing her environment and she seemed very tense. After seeing her expression, I felt a bit relieved to see that I wasn't the only one under tension. After I came back to my senses, I realized that I had been standing at the door for over a minute and people had started staring at me. I felt uncomfortable with their gazes and I walked straight to the back seat in order to avoid their eyes. I continued to observe my surroundings and couldn't help but notice that people kept staring at me, especially the girls. I was really uncomfortable and decided to place my head on the table to avoid them. I became really bothered by the people around me and couldn't help but want to panic. I thought I could handle it but I really couldn't. I just had this thought in my head that even if they were kids, I could be attacked by anyone around me. I was about to lose my mind. Before that could happen, the homeroom teacher walked in and started the class. I looked up and everyone had faced the teacher except one person. The girl I noticed earlier. Her expression and gaze were different. This time around, she wasn't anxiously observing her environment. Instead, she was looking right at me. It was then I noticed how pretty she was. When she noticed that I was staring at her, she quickly turned away and faced the teacher. I couldn't help but smile. I found that little action of hers cute and it helped me take my mind off the thoughts I had previously. Class went by smoothly and it was already breaktime, I slept through most of it though. It turns out that I had previously learnt everything while I was studying at home. Now I truly believed that I was a genius. 

I remembered the girl that caught my attention and then I looked in her direction. She was talking to another girl who was smaller than the average eleven year old kid. I felt happy that she finally had someone to talk to. Now I was the only one who didn't have someone to talk to. I'm not sure if I'd be able to handle talking to anyone at this point, but who knows if I could. I felt it was odd that people kept glancing at me but I just decided to ignore them. I placed my head back on the table till break was over. 

The day ended real quick and it was time to go home. The whole class became rowdy and I got glued to my seat. I refused to join the crowd of people that were gathered. I decided to wait for everyone to leave before getting up. It took quite a while before the class became clear. I was the last to leave the classroom and I used the opportunity to take a look around the building. Since I spent my whole day in class, I didn't have the chance to look around. The school was quite beautiful and had more than enough facilities for kids to learn. I was happy I chose this school and I became more determined to study here.

After my tour, I left the school gates and found my driver looking anxious. I suddenly remembered that he was supposed to pick me up. He must have been worried that something had happened to me. I apologized for being late and explained what had happened. I told him to pick me up an hour after closing time since it was more comfortable to leave when there was no one left in the building.